1. Support, Sponsor, and Solve.
American Media
If you’re not on the edge, you’re taking up way too much space. Everybody’s selling truth.
Here’s a few nuggets that are actually true: Safe advertising is risky advertising. Not to be
different is virtually suicidal. And, yes. Advertising is indeed an art. The art of persuasion.
F or 15 years, Barb Dickey educated agency clients
at Scali, McCabe, Sloves and Arnold Worldwide on
how to move the masses. Then she decided to move her
own clients as Cre8tivistion, LLC. The combined result is
some of the most effective, award-winning advertising and
branding this side of the pond. Except, of course, for the
stuff she’s done across the pond.
What Barb does lies in the hearts and talents of all
great Creatives. It’s the unadulterated passion for creating
ideas that break through the clutter. While loathing the
phrase, ‘breaking through the clutter.’ It’s not shock for
shock’s sake, but inherent, organic interest that arrests
attention. Whether you’re persuading an involuntary Barb Dickey, President of Cre8tivision
audience to buy sneakers, or be more water-wise.
Never forget that today’s audiences are smart. They
get ‘mass marketing.’ They ignore ‘mass marketing.’ You’ve
gotta kick them in the gut. Throw out every advertising rule
you know, and gravitate toward cutting-edge and simply-
impossible-to-ignore. Elicit a visceral reaction and you’ll
turn brand ignorance into more than just brand loyalty.
You’ll achieve the Holy Grail: brand advocacy.
Imagine moving an entire country to trust meat. During
the Mad Cow Disease scare. For Sainsbury’s, London,
Barb leveraged trust in the store’s resident experts
to promote the healthy incorporation of beef into the
public’s diet. With robust photography. Dynamic graphics.
And a strategic lifestyle hook—a mouthwatering recipe.
Sainsbury’s profited with healthier sales.
And truly inspiring creative knows no bounds.
Employed within Social Marketing it can move masses
in astoundingly positive, productive directions. Take
Water Advocates—not satisfied to simply state: There is
a problem and we need to fix it, Barb recommended stark
visuals to emphasize the suffering in developing countries.
Married with an Indian girl receiving clean water and
a compelling, thought-provoking headline, readers are
moved to Support, Sponsor and Solve. Rather than just
move on.
Truth is, anyone can use a computer to design a
‘painting.’ That doesn’t make him Picasso. Knowing how
to connect, to vibe, to move into action—and to do it on
the edge. Now that’s the real art.
Tel +1.202.248.4406 Water Advocates, moved readers to Support, Sponsor, and Solve. Rather than just move on.
www.Cre8tivision.com
12 Best of DC Best of DC 13
Barb Dickey, President and CEO